Chemical Engineering / Kimya Mühendisliği
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/14
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Article Citation - WoS: 11Citation - Scopus: 12Numerical Modelling Assisted Design of a Compact Ultrafiltration (uf) Flat Sheet Membrane Module(MDPI, 2021) Bopape, Mokgadi F.; Van Geel, Tim; Dutta, Abhishek; Van der Bruggen, Bart; Onyango, Maurice StephenThe increasing adoption of ultra-low pressure (ULP) membrane systems for drinking water treatment in small rural communities is currently hindered by a limited number of studies on module design. Detailed knowledge on both intrinsic membrane transport properties and fluid hydrodynamics within the module is essential in understanding ULP performance prediction, mass transfer analysis for scaling-up between lab-scale and industrial scale research. In comparison to hollow fiber membranes, flat sheet membranes present certain advantages such as simple manufacture, sheet replacement for cleaning, moderate packing density and low to moderate energy usage. In the present case study, a numerical model using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of a novel custom flat sheet membrane module has been designed in 3D to predict fluid flow conditions. The permeate flux through the membrane decreased with an increase in spacer curviness from 2.81 L/m(2)h for no (0%) curviness to 2.73 L/m(2)h for full (100%) curviness. A parametric analysis on configuration variables was carried out to determine the optimum design variables and no significant influence of spacer inflow or outflow thickness on the fluid flow were observed. The numerical model provides the necessary information on the role of geometrical and operating parameters for fabricating a module prototype where access to technical expertise is limited.Article Citation - WoS: 2Citation - Scopus: 1Errors Associated With Swelling in the Analysis of Polymer-Solvent Diffusion Measurements(Elsevier Ltd., 2005) Alsoy Altınkaya, SacideSorption curves are generated from a mathematical model which includes the influence of the polymer swelling for unsteady-state sorption of a vapor or liquid by a polymer. To investigate the simultaneous effects of the specific volumes of the polymer-penetrant pair and the difference between the final and initial equilibrium concentrations on the sorption curves, statistical experimental design approach is used. Simulation results obtained from the numerical solution of model equations are utilized to estimate the error that would occur if one simply evaluates the diffusion coefficient using the traditional formulas derived from the analytical solution of the sorption equation. An empirical expression is developed that describes the effects of the difference between the final and initial equilibrium concentrations and the specific volumes of the polymer and the penetrant on the magnitude of error in diffusivity associated with the use of one of these traditional formulas so called the initial slope method. The predictive ability of the regression model is tested by performing additional simulations not used in the regression analysis.